Joints provide articulation of various body parts. These joints can be damaged in numerous ways, such as exposure to trauma or degeneration due to old age or disease. Joints, such as hip joints, typically include a bone with a ball end and a bone with a socket opening. When damaged, the interaction between the ball and socket can become problematic, preventing proper articulation of a joint and/or pain in the joint. Such restriction and/or discomfort are often due to a breakdown of the surfaces of one or both of the ball and socket. In the case of a hip joint, the femur and pelvis are involved. The femur includes the femoral head with a layer of articular cartilage and the pelvic bone includes the acetabulum socket, also with a layer of articular cartilage. Once the layer of articular cartilage is worn or damaged to an advanced degree, the joint no longer functions as intended and can require surgical intervention.
Currently, to address worn or damaged hip joints, an invasive surgical procedure is performed to install a full or half prosthetic joint. The installation of the prosthetic joint involves substantial restructuring of the original joint, which requires the surgeon to inflict substantial damage to the joint area to access and install the prosthetic joint, thereby increasing the likelihood of permanent damage to surrounding nerves, ligaments, etc. In addition, this invasive procedure can result in chronic pain, poor articulation of the joint, failure of the prosthesis, etc., which can substantially decrease the likelihood of a post-operative normally functioning prosthetic joint. Often hip arthritis can cause significant discomfort, but the trauma to a patient's hip and the lingering post-operative issues can be unacceptable to a patient. In particular, if the patient is young and/or very active.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a minimally invasive procedure that limits the damage to the joint area during installation and provide a more reliable prosthetic repair/replacement.